Players battle using six-sided tiles (HEXs), racing to become the first to complete a pattern made of 7 HEXs called a HEXATECH.

HEXATECH Pattern Diagram: 6 HEXs surrounding 1 central HEX

HEXs may be placed in ANY ORDER, so long as they preserve the POSSIBILITY of forming a valid HEXATECH in the future and are properly linked to at least one other HEX.

Additionally, on your turn, your entire board may be shifted within the confines of the HEXATECH pattern above, so long as no individual HEXs are removed, replaced, or reconfigured. (See "HOW TO PLAY" below.)

In HEXATECH, card tiles are called HEXs and consist of the following:

Diagram of a HEX

• 1. Orientation Arrow — A small black arrow outlined in white on the TOP edge of a HEX—must always face "UP."
• 2. Rarity Badge — Rectangle near the top of a HEX denoting how rare it is. (See "Rarity" below.)
• 3. Base Color Faction Icon — A colored symbol in the middle of the HEX, directly above the HEX's name, denoting the HEX's BASE COLOR FACTION identity.
• 4. Linkage Points — Each HEX has (6) linkage points, one per edge, which may be affiliated with 1 or more FACTIONS, designated by colored icons. Linkage points determine which HEXs can be joined together, and how.
• 5. Attack Rating — Large number on the LEFT side of the HEX (marked by a sword icon), representing the HEX's ATTACK strength.
• 6. Defense Rating — Large number on the RIGHT side of the HEX (marked by a shield icon), representing the HEX's DEFENSE strength.
• 7. Art — A unique image covering a large portion of a HEX's central surface.
• 8. Name — Text used to identify a HEX.
• 9. Set Number — Numbers in the format "X / Y," where "X" represents the HEX's number within a set and "Y" represents the total number of HEXs within that set. (Example: "04 / 98" is the 4th HEX in a set of 98 HEXs.)
• 10. Set Mark — A small icon near the bottom-right corner of the HEX, denoting the production set and print run to which the HEX belongs.

DECK: Before the game starts, players shuffle their decks and place them to the right.

HAND: A player's hand may be held or placed facedown in front of them.

BOARD: The surface area directly in front of a player, where they will build their HEXATECH.

HEXs connect to other HEXs by matching COLOR FACTION LINKs.

HOW TO MATCH

Whenever two HEXs share at least one FACTION ICON along their connecting edges, they can be joined together on a player's board. The HEXs do not need to be of the same BASE FACTION in order to be joined.

Example: Two HEXs joined together by blue FLUID link.

This does not trigger any faction ability (see below).

Base Match

Whenever two HEXs of the same BASE COLOR FACTION are joined together (no matter the link), a Base Match has been made. This triggers the faction ability corresponding to the shared base identity of both HEXs.

Example: Two HEXs of the same BASE FACTION—FLUID , joined together by SPIRIT  link.

This triggers the FLUID  Faction Ability.
The SPIRIT  Faction Ability is NOT triggered, as one link is dual. (See below.)

LinK Match

Whenever two HEXs of ANY base faction are linked together by the same single, non-dual faction link, a Link Match has been made. This triggers the faction ability corresponding to the shared identity of the non-dual link.

Example: Two HEXs of different BASE FACTIONs, joined together by a non-dual SPIRIT  link.

This triggers the SPIRIT  Faction Ability.
No base color faction ability is triggered, as the HEXs do not belong to the same base faction.

EXAMPLES:

No Abilities Triggered — No Base or Link Match Made


These HEXs are of different Base Factions and are not connected by a single, non-dual link. So, these HEXs can be joined together on the board but trigger no abilities.

1 Ability Triggered — Base Match Made


These HEXs are not connected by a single, non-dual link, but are of the same Base Faction, triggering an ability through Base Match.

1 Ability Triggered — Link Match Made


These HEXs are of different Base Factions but are connected by a single, non-dual link, triggering an ability through Link Match.

2 Abilities Triggered — Base and Link Match Made


These HEXs are of the same Base Faction and are connected by a single, non-dual link, triggering a total of two abilities: one by Base Match and one by Link Match.

There are 7 COLOR FACTIONS in HEXATECH. These are their names and corresponding abilities:

 BLOOD (Red)

The BLOOD faction is fueled by violence, instinct, and passion. Its kreatures and warriors believe in the purity of decisive action and the brutal poetry of battle.

Faction Ability: Enrage

• You may immediately attack with any HEX on your board.

NOTE: HEXs may only attack ONCE per turn, whether by player action or faction ability.

FLESH (Orange)

FLESH teaches that life is a temporary arrangement—soft, fleeting, and fragile. To wield FLESH is to remind others that endings are non-optional.

Faction Ability: Mortality

• You may have your opponent fan out their hand. Choose one HEX at random; it is placed at the bottom of their deck.

NOTE: If your opponent's hand is empty, this ability has no effect.

BONE (Yellow)

BONE remembers. Its strength is heritage, its stance unyielding. Where others break, BONE endures through will and remembrance.

Faction Ability: Shield

• You may give any HEX on your board a SHIELD.

NOTE: To give a SHIELD, place a simple marker or token on a HEX. When attacked, or targeted by a removal ability, remove only the SHIELD token from the HEX, instead of removing the HEX itself from the board.

An attack does NOT have to be "successful" in order to remove a SHIELD. An attack always removes a SHIELD, no matter the Attack and Defense ratings of the two HEXs involved.

A HEX may have no more than (1) SHIELD at any given time.

ROOT (Green)

ROOT is life uncontained. Its power lies in growth, multiplicity, and the endless hunger to spread. To play ROOT is to overwhelm rather than overpower.

Faction Ability: Swarm

• You may place a HEX from your hand onto your BOARD.

NOTE: The additional HEX must be properly linked and does not trigger any faction abilities when placed.

FLUID (Blue)

FLUID is elusive, agile, and dangerous. It erodes resistance not with strength but with inevitability. Nothing stays. Nothing sticks.

Faction Ability: Flush

• You may remove a HEX from your BOARD or your opponent's BOARD. The HEX returns to that player's hand. It may not be replayed in the same turn.

SPIRIT (Purple)

SPIRIT touches what lies beyond time. To walk with SPIRIT is to know things before they happen and remember what once was.

Faction Ability: Raise

• You may draw one HEX from the top of your deck.

ADEPT (White)

ADEPTs are wild, shifting allegiances and honoring a code no greater than their momentary whims.

Faction Ability: Wild

• When PLACING a WHITE HEX, ignore all link colors. When linking TO a WHITE HEX, respect link colors as usual.
• A WHITE HEX may NEVER be linked to another WHITE HEX on your board.

At the Start of the Game:

• Each player shuffles their personal deck of 14 uniquely-named HEXs (no duplicate names are allowed).
• Each draws (3) HEXs to form their starting hand.
• Each player then selects (1) HEX in secret and places it facedown on their board.
• A coin is flipped to determine which player goes first.
• After the coin flip, both players reveal their starting HEX.
• The first player may take only ONE action on their very FIRST turn, instead of the usual two (see below).

On Your Turn:

FREE SHIFT: You may freely shift your HEXs on the board at any time during your turn, treating the entire formation as a single unit. No HEXs may be removed, placed outside the pattern, or repositioned in any way that would break valid linkage or HEXATECH configuration when performing a free shift. This does not cost a player action and can be performed as many times as desired.

           
Example: Two HEXs are moved by Free Shift from the top-left to the bottom-right corner.

Choose TWO of the following actions (you may repeat the same action twice):

• Draw 1 HEX from the top of your deck
• Place 1 HEX from your hand onto your BOARD
  • Resolve Faction Abilities in any order (if triggered)
• Remove 1 HEX from your board
  • The HEX returns to your hand.
  NOTE: A HEX removed from your board in this manner may not be placed again until the following turn. You may NOT remove and replace the same HEX in the same turn.
• Attack with 1 HEX
  • Announce which HEX is attacking and declare its target.
  • A player cannot attack if the announced card's Attack is zero or below the declared target's Defense.
  • If the announced HEX has an Attack greater than the declared target's Defense, the opposing HEX is removed from the board and placed at the bottom of that player's deck.
  • If Attack and Defense are equal, both HEXs are removed to the bottom of their respective decks.
  NOTE: Each HEX may only attack once per turn, including attacks triggered by abilities. The same HEX may never attack more than once in a single turn. Attack tokens may be used to track this.

A valid HEXATECH deck contains exactly 14 uniquely named HEXs.

• No duplicate names are allowed—even if the art, stats, or linkages differ.
• Casual play may allow duplicate HEXs as a house rule if all players agree.

Deck building Tips

• Choose 1 core Color Faction to focus on. Synergy between Base Matches and Link Matches is key.
• Mix single and dual-color linkages.
  • Single-color linkages help trigger faction abilities,
  • Dual-color linkages offer greater placement flexibility.
• Watch for dead-ends.
  • Example: A HEX with a single, non-dual ROOT (Green) linkage on its top edge requires another HEX with a bottom edge ROOT (Green) linkage in order to connect—otherwise, it becomes unplayable in that configuration.

ORPHANED HEXs — HEXs become "orphaned" when an attack or ability removes the HEX connecting them. Orphaned HEXs remain on the player's board. However, they cannot be shifted independently—if shifted, they must still move as a single unit with all other HEXs currently on the player's board.

HAND SIZE LIMIT — There is no hand size limit in HEXATECH. If a player's deck is empty, they simply can no longer draw. All other rules apply as written.